The moment Aoba gave this answer, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. He hadn't expected the secret of the Rinnegan to have been right in front of him all along.
"There must be some special condition involved, right? After all, the Uchiha clan has never produced a single Rinnegan in all these years. Wait—Sharingan, Uchiha... Are you implying that the mastermind behind the Akatsuki is an Uchiha?"
"No, I don't know. I can only say that, theoretically, that's possible.""Interesting. I'm starting to feel that this Shinobi World is far more intriguing than I imagined. Aoba-kun, I have you to thank for this information. Speak, what do you want in exchange for this news?"
Aoba pondered for a moment before responding.
"I need samples of the First Hokage's cells. And a set of equipment—human experimentation equipment."
The First Hokage's cells could be considered a cheat-level power-up in the Shinobi World. However, very few could actually withstand this power-up.
After years of experimentation, Konoha only produced one success—Yamato. Danzo needed ten Sharingan eyes just to suppress the effects in one arm. These facts alone proved how extremely dangerous the First's cells were.
Orochimaru had once been obsessed with the First's cells as well. But after realizing he couldn't handle them, he eventually turned his focus to the Sharingan. Now that Aoba was making this request, it made Orochimaru consider many possibilities.
"Has Aoba-kun discovered a safe method for transplanting the First's cells?"
"If that were true, I wouldn't need to make this deal with you, Orochimaru-sama. Konoha is currently conducting similar experiments."
"Then do you understand what transplanting the First's cells entails?"
"Of course. But Orochimaru-sama, aren't you forgetting something?"
"What?"
"I'm just a civilian shinobi. I don't have a Hokage as my teacher, no Clan secret techniques passed down through generations, no Bloodline limit. In this world, no matter how hard I try, my ceiling is limited."
"All these years, not a single day has passed where I didn't train seriously, extracting Chakra. Yet my total Chakra reserves don't even reach one-tenth of yours, Orochimaru-sama. This is the tragedy of us civilian shinobi."
"I happened to obtain this intelligence by chance. Now what I must do is turn this information into my own power."
"I see. So Aoba-kun is also someone who pursues strength. I'm growing increasingly convinced you should come work for me. Aoba-kun, my organization is where you truly belong."
"I appreciate your high regard, Orochimaru-sama. I'll seriously consider this offer."
"Good. I have high expectations for you, Aoba."
"In that case, let's conclude our transaction here, Orochimaru-sama. You shouldn't remain here too long. There might be Anbu surveillance around my residence."
"Heh, the Third hasn't changed at all. Very well then. The items you requested will be delivered shortly."
With these words, Orochimaru's body dissolved into mud. The white snake also vanished in a puff of smoke.
Aoba let out a quiet sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Every transaction with Orochimaru was a battle of wits. He knew that showing even the slightest weakness would give Orochimaru the opportunity to consume him completely.
In each exchange, Aoba provided substantial, genuine intelligence—but always incomplete. This served both as insurance against Orochimaru reneging on their deals and as a way to maintain the value of his information.
Orochimaru was well aware Aoba wasn't revealing everything. But each time brought tangible gains, just enough to restrain him from taking more drastic measures.However, this peaceful transaction wouldn't last long. Aoba needed too many things, and Orochimaru's appetite would only grow larger. Eventually, Orochimaru would completely turn hostile, wanting to extract all the information in Aoba's mind at once.
Before that day arrived, Aoba needed to ensure he grew strong enough to engage in peaceful dialogue with Orochimaru—or even suppress him.
To that end, he had devised a series of plans for himself.
Sage training took top priority. His affinity with natural energy had already reached an exceptionally high level. Absorbing a certain amount of natural energy now barely caused any stiffness.
At this rate, he estimated that in another two months, he could make his first attempt at completing his Sage Mode.
Once Sage Mode was mastered, his strength would immediately ascend to an entirely new level—somewhere between elite Jonin and Kage-level.
The reason he couldn't reach Kage-level yet was twofold. First, his total Chakra reserves were too low. Sage Mode didn't directly utilize natural energy—at least in the initial stages, it was a blend of natural energy, Chakra, and mental energy.
The addition of natural energy effectively boosted his Chakra to some extent while also enhancing the power of his ninjutsu. But if his total Chakra was too low, this enhancement would remain limited.
It was a classic case of the barrel theory. Chakra was the shortest plank in Aoba's barrel. As long as this issue remained unresolved, his ceiling would always be restricted.
The solution Aoba had in mind was to transplant Hashirama's cells. However, the specifics would require time and extensive experimentation.
Secondly, Aoba had another weakness: as a civilian-born shinobi, his reserves in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu were far too lacking.
He had transmigrated during his time at the ninja academy. But as everyone knew, Konoha's academy only taught the Three Body Technique. Despite his relentless studying and excelling in all theoretical subjects, it was ultimately useless.
Beyond the Three Body Technique, the only ninjutsu he had inherited from his deceased parents was a D-rank Wind Release: Wind Scythe.
That's right—aside from the Three Body Technique, this was the only ninjutsu he knew. Building upon this Wind Release technique, he had developed the Air Cutting Flash, a nin-taijutsu hybrid.
Later, after three years of brutal clashes with Cloud Ninja at the border, he gradually developed other complementary nin-taijutsu techniques, along with his trump card—the Electromagnetic Cannon.
But that was it. He knew some medical ninjutsu, which he had learned while serving as Orochimaru's lab assistant. Including the Mystical Palm Technique, these were all the combat methods he had mastered.
Just look at Kakashi from the original story, who knew thousands of ninjutsu. Jiraiya, Itachi Uchiha—all wielded an endless array of bizarre techniques and legendary weapons. These were the foundations of a shinobi's strength, the very limits of their potential.
And Aoba had none of these. Thus, his first goal was to increase his total Chakra reserves.
His second goal was to accumulate his own foundational reserves.